Changes in taste palatability across the estrous cycle are modulated by hypothalamic estradiol signaling.

Food intake varies across the stages of a rat's estrous cycle. It is reasonable to hypothesize that this cyclic fluctuation in consumption reflects an impact of hormones on taste palatability/preference, but evidence for this hypothesis has been mixed, and critical within-subject experiments in which rats sample multiple tastes during each of the four main estrous phases (metestrus, diestrus, proestrus, and estrus) have been scarce. Here, we assayed licking for pleasant (sucrose, NaCl, saccharin) and aversive (quinine-HCl, citric acid) tastes each day for 5-10 days while tracking rats' estrous cycles through vaginal cytology. Initial analyses confirmed the previously-described increased consumption of pleasant stimuli 24-48 hours following the time of high estradiol. A closer look, however, revealed this effect to reflect a general magnification of palatability-higher than normal preferences for pleasant tastes and lower than normal preferences for aversive tastes-during metestrus. We hypothesized that this phenomenon might be related to estradiol processing in the lateral hypothalamus (LH), and tested this hypothesis by inhibiting LH estrogen receptor activity with ICI 182,780 during tasting. Control infusions replicated the metestrus magnification of palatability pattern; ICI infusions blocked this effect as predicted, but failed to render preferences "cycle free," instead delaying the palatability magnification until diestrus. Clearly, estrous phase mediates details of taste palatability in a manner involving hypothalamic actions of estradiol; further work will be needed to explain the lack of a flat response across the cycle with hypothalamic estradiol binding inhibited, a result which perhaps suggests dynamic interplay between brain regions or hormones. Significance Statement: Consummatory behaviors are impacted by many variables, including naturally circulating hormones. While it is clear that consumption is particularly high during the stages following the high-estradiol stage of the rodent's estrous (and human menstrual) cycle, it is as of yet unclear whether this phenomenon reflects cycle stage-specific palatability (i.e., whether pleasant tastes are particularly delicious, and aversive tastes particularly disgusting, at particular phases). Here we show that palatability is indeed modulated by estrous phase, and that this effect is governed, at least in part, by the action of estradiol within the lateral hypothalamus. These findings shed light on the mechanisms underlying the adverse impact on human welfare due to irregularities observed across the otherwise cyclic menstrual process.

[Establishment and Effective Evaluation of Haikou Ozone Concentration Statistical Prediction Model].

This study selected 15 key predictors of the maximum of 8-hour averaged ozone (O3) concentration (O3-8h), using the O3 concentration of Haikou and ERA5 reanalysis data from 2015 to 2020, and constructed a multiple linear regression (MLR) model, support vector machine (SVM) model, and BP neural network (BPNN) model, to predict and test the O3-8h concentration of Haikou in 2021. The results showed that the absolute value of correlation coefficients between the O3-8h and related key prediction factors was mainly among 0.2 and 0.507. The 1 000 hPa relative humidity (RH1000), wind direction (WD1000), and 875 hPa meridional wind (v875) showed a good indicative effect on the O3-8h, with the absolute correlation value exceeding 0.4. The three prediction models could predict the seasonal variation in the O3-8h in Haikou, which was larger in the winter half year and smaller in the summer half year. The root mean square error(RMSE) was the smallest (22.29 µg·m-3) in the BPNN model. The correlation coefficients between the predicted values of three statistical models and observations were ranked as 0.733 (BPNN) > 0.724 (SVM) > 0.591 (MLR), all passing the 99.9% significance test. For the prediction of the O3-8h level, we found that TS scores of these three prediction models decreased with the increase in O3-8h concentration level. Relatively, the point over rate and not hit rate increased with the rise in O3-8h concentration level. TS scores of the SVM and BPNN model were relatively larger than those of MLR, especially in the light pollution level with TS scores remaining above 70%, indicating a better prediction capability.

Can cerebellar theta-burst stimulation improve balance function and gait in stroke patients? A randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: The cerebellum is a key structure involved in balance and motor control, and has become a new stimulation target in brain regulation technology. Interference theta-burst simulation (iTBS) is a novel simulation mode of repetitive transcranial magnetic simulation. However, the impact of cerebellar iTBS on balance function and gait in stroke patients is still unknown. AIM: The aim of this study was to determine whether cerebellar iTBS can improve function, particularly balance and gait, in patients with post-stroke hemiplegia. DESIGN: This study is a randomized, double-blind, sham controlled clinical trial. SETTING: The study was carried out at the Department of Rehabilitation Medicine in a general hospital. POPULATION: Patients with stroke with first unilateral lesions were enrolled in the study. METHODS: Thirty-six patients were randomly assigned to the cerebellar iTBS group or sham stimulation group. The cerebellar iTBS or pseudo stimulation site is the ipsilateral cerebellum on the paralyzed side, which is completed just before daily physical therapy. The study was conducted five times a week for two consecutive weeks. All patients were assessed before the intervention (T0) and at the end of 2 weeks of treatment (T1), respectively. The primary outcome was the Berg Balance Scale (BBS), while secondary outcome measures included the Fugl Meyer Lower Limb Assessment Scale (FMA-LE), timed up and go (TUG), Barthel Index (BI), and gait analysis. RESULTS: After 2 weeks of intervention, the BBS, FMA-LE, TUG, and BI score in both the iTBS group and the sham group were significantly improved compared to the baseline (all P<0.05). Also, there was a significant gait parameter improvement including the cadence, stride length, velocity, step length compared to the baseline (P<0.05) in the iTBS group, but only significant improvement in cadence was identified in the sham group (P<0.05). Intergroup comparison showed that the BBS (P<0.001), FMA-LE (P<0.001), and BI (P=0.002) in the iTBS group were significantly higher than those in the sham group, and the TUG in the iTBS was significantly lower than that in the sham group (P=0.002). In addition, there were significant differences in cadence (P=0.029), strip length (P=0.046), gain velocity (P=0.002), and step length of affected lower limb (P=0.024) between the iTBS group and the sham iTBS group. CONCLUSIONS: Physical therapy is able to improve the functional recovery in hemiplegic patients after stroke, but the cerebellar iTBS can facilitate and accelerate the recovery, particularly the balance function and gait. Cerebellar iTBS could be an efficient and facilitative treatment for patients with stroke. CLINICAL REHABILITATION IMPACT: Cerebellar iTBS provides a convenient and efficient treatment modality for functional recovery of patients with stroke, especially balance function and gait.

Compact and low-insertion-loss polarization beam-splitting multimode filter using pixelated waveguides.

A polarization beam-splitting multimode filter using pixelated waveguides has been presented and experimentally demonstrated in this paper. Finite difference time domain method and direct binary search optimization algorithm are employed to optimize pixelated waveguides to realize compact size, broad bandwidth, large extinction ratio, low insertion loss, and good polarization extinction ratio. Measurement results show that, in a wavelength range from 1520 to 1560 nm, for the fabricated device working at transverse-electric polarization, the measured insertion loss is less than 1.23 dB and extinction ratio is larger than 15.14 dB, while for transverse-magnetic polarization, the corresponding insertion loss lower than 0.74 dB and extinction ratio greater than 15.50 dB are realized. The measured polarization extinction ratio larger than 15.02 dB is achieved. The device's length is only 15.4 µm.

Identification and Functional Analysis of Lysine 2-Hydroxyisobutyrylation in Cyanobacteria.

Cyanobacteria are the oldest prokaryotic photoautotrophic microorganisms and have evolved complicated post-translational modification (PTM) machinery to respond to environmental stress. Lysine 2-hydroxyisobutyrylation (Khib) is a newly identified PTM that is reported to play important roles in diverse biological processes, however, its distribution and function in cyanobacteria have not been reported. Here, we performed the first systematic studies of Khib in a model cyanobacterium Synechococcus sp. strain PCC 7002 (Syn7002) using peptide prefractionation, pan-Khib antibody enrichment, and high-accuracy mass spectrometry (MS) analysis. A total of 1875 high-confidence Khib sites on 618 proteins were identified, and a large proportion of Khib sites are present on proteins in the cellular metabolism, protein synthesis, and photosynthesis pathways. Using site-directed mutagenesis and functional studies, we showed that Khib of glutaredoxin (Grx) affects the efficiency of the PS II reaction center and H2O2 resistance in Syn7002. Together, this study provides novel insights into the functions of Khib in cyanobacteria and suggests that reversible Khib may influence the stress response and photosynthesis in both cyanobacteria and plants.

Polydatin protects against articular cartilage degeneration by regulating autophagy mediated by the AMPK/mTOR signaling pathway.

BACKGROUND: Knee osteoarthritis (KOA) is one of the leading causes of disability. Polydatin has a potential effect on KOA treatment but the therapeutic mechanism is not clear. This study aims to investigate the therapeutic action of polydatin in KOA and its mechanism in activating autophagy via the AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK)/mTOR signaling pathway. METHODS: After a KOA rat model was established by anterior cruciate ligament transection surgery, model rats were treated with polydatin 40 mg/kg for 30 days. Subsequently, cartilage tissues were collected, and hematoxylin-eosin (HE), Safranin-O, and TUNEL staining, and western blotting were performed to evaluate the pathological damage and autophagy-related protein expression. Then, human chondrocyte C28/I2 cells were stimulated with lipopolysaccharide (LPS), and the effects of polydatin on C28/I2 cell viability, apoptosis, and autophagy-related protein expression were detected by MTT, Flow Cytometry, and western blot. In addition, an AMPK inhibitor (Dorsomorphin 2HCl) was used to probe the cell proliferation and apoptosis of polydatin-administered C28/I2 cells. RESULTS: Polydatin ameliorated the pathological damage in rat cartilage tissues and inhibited cell apoptosis in KOA rats. Meanwhile, in C28/I2 cells, polydatin promoted viability and reduced apoptosis. In addition, the protein expression of collagen II, LC3II/LC3I, Beclin-1, and p-AMPK/AMPK were upregulated, and p62 and p-mTOR/mTOR were downregulated by polydatin treatment. Interestingly, relative results showed that the protective effect of polydatin in LPS-stimulated-C28/I2 cells was blocked by the AMPK/mTOR inhibitor, dorsomorphin 2HCl. CONCLUSION: Our research showed that polydatin reduced apoptosis and activated autophagy both in vivo and in vitro by the AMPK/mTOR signaling pathway to protect against KOA, which provided the basis for further investigation into the potential therapeutic impact of polydatin on KOA.

Pleurotus eryngii root waste and soybean meal co-fermented protein improved the growth, immunity, liver and intestinal health of largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides).

The present study aimed to evaluate the effect of king oyster mushroom (Pleurotus eryngii) root waste and soybean meal co-fermented protein (CFP) on growth performance, feed utilization, immune status, hepatic and intestinal health of largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides). Largemouth bass (12.33 ± 0.18 g) were divided into five groups, fed with diets containing 0 %, 5 %, 10 %, 15 % and 20 % CFP respectively for 7 weeks. The growth performance and dietary utilization were slightly improved by the supplementation of CFP. In addition, improved immunoglobulin M (IgM) content and lysozyme activity in treatments confirm the enhancement of immunity in fish by the addition of CFP, especially in fish fed 20 % CFP (P < 0.05). Furthermore, CFP significantly improved liver GSH (glutathione) content in groups D10 and D15 (P < 0.05), and slightly improved total antioxidant capacity (T-AOC), superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity while slightly reduced malondialdehyde (MDA) content. Simultaneously, the upregulation of lipolysis-related genes (PPARα, CPT1 and ACO) expression and downregulation of lipid synthesis-related genes (ACC and DGAT1) expression was recorded in the group D20 compared with the control (P < 0.05), which were consistent with the decreased liver lipid contents, suggests that lipid metabolism was improved by CFP. In terms of intestinal structural integrity, ameliorated intestinal morphology in treatments were consistent with the upregulated Occludin, Claudin-1 and ZO-1 genes expression. The intestinal pro-inflammatory cytokines (TNF-α and IL-8) expression were suppressed while the anti-inflammatory cytokines (IL-10 and TGF-ß) were activated in treatments. The expression of antimicrobial peptides (Hepcidin-1, Piscidin-2 and Piscidin-3) and intestinal immune effectors (IgM and LYZ) were slightly up-regulated in treatments. Additionally, the relative abundance of intestinal beneficial bacteria (Firmicutes) increased while the relative abundance of potential pathogenic bacteria (Fusobacterium and Proteobacteria) decreased, which indicated that the intestinal microbial community was well-reorganized by CFP. In conclusion, dietary CFP improves growth, immunity, hepatic and intestinal health of largemouth bass, these data provided a theoretical basis for the application of this novel functional protein ingredient in fish.

Electricity-Driven Strategies for Bioinspired Multifunctional Swimming Marangoni Robots Based on Super-Aligned Carbon Nanotube Composites.

Marangoni actuators that are propelled by surface tension gradients hold significant potential in small-scale swimming robots. Nevertheless, the release of "fuel" for conventional chemical Marangoni actuators is not easily controllable, and the single swimming function also limits application areas. Constructing controllable Marangoni robots with multifunctions is still a huge challenge. Herein, inspired by water striders, electricity-driven strategies are proposed for a multifunctional swimming Marangoni robot (MSMR), which is fabricated by super-aligned carbon nanotube (SACNT) and polyimide (PI) composite. The MSMR consists of a Marangoni actuator and air-ambient actuators. Owing to the temperature gradient generated by the electrical stimulation on the water surface, the Marangoni actuators can swim controllably with linear, turning, and rotary motions, mimicking the walking motion of water striders. In addition, the Marangoni actuators can also be driven by light. Importantly, the air-ambient actuators fabricated by SACNT/PI bilayer structures demonstrate the function of grasping objects on the water surface when electrically Joule-heated, mimicking the predation behavior of water striders. With the synergistic effect of the Marangoni actuator and air-ambient actuators, the MSMR can navigate mazes with tunnels and grasp objects. This research will provide a new inspiration for smart actuators and swimming robots.

The safety, feasibility and oncological outcomes of laparoscopic completion total gastrectomy for remnant gastric cancer: a prospective study with 3-year follow-up (FUGES-004 study).

BACKGROUND: The efficacy of laparoscopic completion total gastrectomy (LCTG) for remnant gastric cancer (RGC) remains controversial. METHODS: The primary outcome was postoperative morbidity within 30 days after surgery. Secondary outcomes included 3-year disease-free survival (DFS), 3-year overall survival (OS), and recurrence. Inverse probability treatment weighted (IPTW) was used to balance the baseline between LCTG and OCTG. RESULTS: Final analysis included 46 patients with RGC who underwent LCTG at the FJMUUH between June 2016 and June 2020. The historical control group comprised of 160 patients who underwent open completion total gastrectomy (OCTG) in the six tertiary teaching hospitals from CRGC-01 study. After IPTW, no significant difference was observed between the LCTG and OCTG groups in terms of incidence (LCTG vs. OCTG: 28.0% vs. 35.0%, P=0.379) or severity of complications within 30 days after surgery. Compared with OCTG, LCTG resulted in better short-term outcomes and faster postoperative recovery. However, the textbook outcome rate was comparable between the two groups (45.9% vs. 32.8%, P=0.107). Additionally, the 3-year DFS and 3-year OS of LCTG were comparable to those of OCTG (DFS: log-rank P=0.173; OS: log-rank P=0.319). No significant differences in recurrence type, mean recurrence time, or 3-year cumulative hazard of recurrence were observed between the two groups (all P>0.05). Subgroup analyses and concurrent comparisons demonstrated similar trends. CONCLUSIONS: This prospective study suggested that LCTG was non-inferior to OCTG in both short- and long-term outcomes. In experienced centers, LCTG may be considered as a viable treatment option for RGC.

Evaluation of genetic response of mesenchymal stem cells to nanosecond pulsed electric fields by whole transcriptome sequencing.

BACKGROUND: Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) modulated by various exogenous signals have been applied extensively in regenerative medicine research. Notably, nanosecond pulsed electric fields (nsPEFs), characterized by short duration and high strength, significantly influence cell phenotypes and regulate MSCs differentiation via multiple pathways. Consequently, we used transcriptomics to study changes in messenger RNA (mRNA), long noncoding RNA (lncRNA), microRNA (miRNA), and circular RNA expression during nsPEFs application. AIM: To explore gene expression profiles and potential transcriptional regulatory mechanisms in MSCs pretreated with nsPEFs. METHODS: The impact of nsPEFs on the MSCs transcriptome was investigated through whole transcriptome sequencing. MSCs were pretreated with 5-pulse nsPEFs (100 ns at 10 kV/cm, 1 Hz), followed by total RNA isolation. Each transcript was normalized by fragments per kilobase per million. Fold change and difference significance were applied to screen the differentially expressed genes (DEGs). Gene Ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes analyses were performed to elucidate gene functions, complemented by quantitative polymerase chain reaction verification. RESULTS: In total, 263 DEGs were discovered, with 92 upregulated and 171 downregulated. DEGs were predominantly enriched in epithelial cell proliferation, osteoblast differentiation, mesenchymal cell differentiation, nuclear division, and wound healing. Regarding cellular components, DEGs are primarily involved in condensed chromosome, chromosomal region, actin cytoskeleton, and kinetochore. From aspect of molecular functions, DEGs are mainly involved in glycosaminoglycan binding, integrin binding, nuclear steroid receptor activity, cytoskeletal motor activity, and steroid binding. Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction confirmed targeted transcript regulation. CONCLUSION: Our systematic investigation of the wide-ranging transcriptional pattern modulated by nsPEFs revealed the differential expression of 263 mRNAs, 2 miRNAs, and 65 lncRNAs. Our study demonstrates that nsPEFs may affect stem cells through several signaling pathways, which are involved in vesicular transport, calcium ion transport, cytoskeleton, and cell differentiation.

Study on analgesic effect of Shentong Zhuyu Decoction in neuropathic pain rats by network pharmacology and RNA-Seq.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: Shentong Zhuyu Decoction (STZYD) is a traditional prescription for promoting the flow of Qi and Blood which is often used in the treatment of low back and leg pain clinicall with unclear mechanism. Neuropathic pain (NP) is caused by disease or injury affecting the somatosensory system. LncRNAs may play a key role in NP by regulating the expression of pain-related genes through binding mRNAs or miRNAs sponge mechanisms. AIM OF THE STUDY: To investigate the effect and potential mechanism of STZYD on neuropathic pain. METHODS: Chronic constriction injury (CCI) rats, a commonly used animal model, were used in this study. The target of STZYD in NP was analyzed by network pharmacology, and the analgesic effect of STZYD in different doses (H-STZYD, M-STZYD, L-STZYD) on CCI rats was evaluated by Mechanical withdrawal thresholds (MWT) and thermal withdrawal latency (TWL). Meanwhile, RNA-seq assay was used to detect the changed mRNAs and lncRNAs in CCI rats after STZYD intervention. GO analysis, KEGG pathway analysis, and IPA analysis were used to find key target genes and pathways, verified by qPCR and Western Blot. The regulatory effect of lncRNAs on target genes was predicted by co-expression analysis and ceRNA network construction. RESULTS: We found that STZYD can improve hyperalgesia in CCI rats, and H-STZYD has the best analgesic effect. The results of network pharmacological analysis showed that STZYD could play an analgesic role in CCI rats through the MAPK/ERK/c-FOS pathway. By mRNA-seq and lncRNA-seq, we found that STZYD could regulate the expression of Cnr1, Cacng5, Gucy1a3, Kitlg, Npy2r, and Grm8, and inhibited the phosphorylation level of ERK in the spinal cord of CCI rats. A total of 27 lncRNAs were associated with the target genes and 30 lncRNAs, 83 miRNAs and 5 mRNAs participated in the ceRNA network. CONCLUSION: STZYD has the effect of improving hyperalgesia in CCI rats through the MAPK/ERK/c-FOS pathway, which is related to the regulation of lncRNAs to Cnr1 and other key targets.

Identification and validation of a lactate metabolism-related six-gene prognostic signature in intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma.

PURPOSE: Intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (iCCA) is a highly malignant and fatal liver tumor with increasing incidence worldwide. Lactate metabolism has been recently reported as a crucial contributor to tumor progression and immune regulation in the tumor microenvironment. However, it remains poorly identified about the biological functions of lactate metabolism in iCCA, which hinders the development of prognostic tools and therapeutic interventions. METHODS: The univariate Cox regression analysis and Boruta algorithm were utilized to identify key lactate metabolism-related genes (LMRGs), and a prognostic signature was constructed based on LMRG scores. Genomic variations and immune cell infiltration were evaluated in the high and low LMRG score groups. Finally, the biological functions of key LMRGs were verified with in vitro and in vivo experiments. RESULTS: Patients in the high LMRG score group exhibit a poor prognosis compared to those in the low LMRG score group, with a high frequency of TP53 and KRAS mutations. Moreover, the infiltration and function of NK cells were compromised in the high LMRG score group, consistent with the results from two independent single-cell RNA sequencing datasets and immunohistochemistry of tissue microarrays. Experimental data revealed that lactate dehydrogenase A (LDHA) knockdown inhibited proliferation and migration in iCCA cell lines and tumor growth in immunocompetent mice. CONCLUSION: Our study revealed the biological roles of LDHA in iCCA and developed a reliable lactate metabolism-related prognostic signature for iCCA, offering promising therapeutic targets for iCCA in the clinic.

Assessing the causal link between liver function and acute pancreatitis: A Mendelian randomisation study.

A correlation has been reported to exist between exposure factors (e.g. liver function) and acute pancreatitis. However, the specific causal relationship remains unclear. This study aimed to infer the causal relationship between liver function and acute pancreatitis using the Mendelian randomisation method. We employed summary data from a genome-wide association study involving individuals of European ancestry from the UK Biobank and FinnGen. Single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SCNPs), closely associated with liver function, served as instrumental variables. We used five regression models for causality assessment: MR-Egger regression, the random-effect inverse variance weighting method (IVW), the weighted median method (WME), the weighted model, and the simple model. We assessed the heterogeneity of the SNPs using Cochran's Q test. Multi-effect analysis was performed using the intercept term of the MR-Egger method and leave-one-out detection. Odds ratios (ORs) were used to evaluate the causal relationship between liver function and acute pancreatitis risk. A total of 641 SNPs were incorporated as instrumental variables. The MR-IVW method indicated a causal effect of gamma-glutamyltransferase (GGT) on acute pancreatitis (OR = 1.180, 95%CI [confidence interval]: 1.021-1.365, P = 0.025), suggesting that GGT may influence the incidence of acute pancreatitis. Conversely, the results for alkaline phosphatase (ALP) (OR = 0.997, 95%CI: 0.992-1.002, P = 0.197) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) (OR = 0.939, 95%CI: 0.794-1.111, P = 0.464) did not show a causal effect on acute pancreatitis. Additionally, neither the intercept term nor the zero difference in the MR-Egger regression attained statistical significance (P = 0.257), and there were no observable gene effects. This study suggests that GGT levels are a potential risk factor for acute pancreatitis and may increase the associated risk. In contrast, ALP and AST levels did not affect the risk of acute pancreatitis.

The Impact of Recent Life Events, Internalizing Symptoms, and Emotion Regulation on the Severity of Non-Suicidal Self-Injury in Adolescents: A Mediation Analysis.

Background: Previous studies have demonstrated a strong association between recent stressful life events and non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) among adolescents. Internalizing symptoms and difficulty in emotion regulation (DER) may mediate this relationship. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between recent stressful life events and NSSI severity in adolescents and the potential moderating role of internalizing symptoms and DER. Methods: A total of 224 adolescent inpatients (78.6% female) participated in the study, with an age range of 12-18 years old. Data on recent stressful life events, internalizing symptoms, DER, and NSSI behaviors were collected using a clinician-rated questionnaire. A structural equation model was used to test the hypothesized model. Results: The rate of NSSI reporting among adolescents in the past 12 months was 65.18%. Recent stressful life events were found to be directly associated with NSSI severity (ß = 0.128, P = 0.023). A chain-mediating effect between recent stressful life events and NSSI was also confirmed (ß = 0.034, P = 0.023), with DER and internalizing symptoms playing a chain-mediating role and DER having a significantly indirect association with NSSI through internalizing symptoms. Conclusion: Recent stressful life events appear to play a role in the etiology of NSSI, particularly punishment and interpersonal relationship events that warrant special attention. DER and internalizing symptoms play a chain-mediating role in the relationship between life events and NSSI. Reducing recent stressful life events, screening for internalizing symptoms, and improving emotion regulation may decrease NSSI behavior among adolescents.

Geriatric nutrition risk index: a more powerful index identifying muscle mass loss in patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the association of geriatric nutrition risk index (GNRI), a traditional albumin-body weight calculation, with myopenia in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and compare its ability to identify myopenia with protein indicators. METHODS: This cross-sectional study was carried out based on a Chinese RA cohort. Clinical data and protein indicators (including albumin, globulin, albumin to globulin ratio, prealbumin, hemoglobin) were collected. GNRI was estimated by serum albumin and body weight. Myopenia was indicated as muscle mass loss measured by bioelectric impedance analysis. RESULTS: There were 789 RA patients included with mean age 52.6 ± 12.6 years and 77.6% female. There were 41.3%, 18.0%, 27.5%, 13.2% patients with no (GNRI > 98), low (GNRI 92 to ≤ 98), moderate (GNRI 82 to < 92), and major nutrition-related risk (GNRI < 82). There were 406 (51.5%) RA patients with myopenia, RA patients with major nutrition-related risk had the highest prevalence of myopenia (87.5% vs. 73.3% vs. 50.0% vs. 26.1%). Multivariate logistic analysis showed that compared with no risk, RA patients with low (OR = 3.23, 95% CI: 1.86-5.61), moderate (OR = 9.56, 95% CI: 5.70-16.01), and major nutrition-related risk (OR = 28.91, 95% CI: 13.54-61.71) were associated with higher prevalence of myopenia. Receiver operating characteristic curves showed that GNRI (AUC = 0.79) performed a better identifiable ability toward myopenia than serum albumin (AUC = 0.66) or others indicators (AUC range 0.59 to 0.65), respectively. CONCLUSION: GNRI, an objective and convenient albumin-weight index, may be preferable for identifying myopenia in RA patients. Key Points • We firstly elucidated the association of GNRI with muscle mass loss among RA patients, and compared its ability to identify muscle mass loss with serum albumin or other protein indicators. • Major nutrition-related risk identified by GNRI showed the highest risk of muscle mass loss, GNRI demonstrated a greater ability to identify myopenia in RA patients. which indicated GNRI was an objective and convenient albumin-weight index to identify myopenia in RA patients.

A modified QuEChERS-based UPLC-MS/MS method for rapid determination of multiple antibiotics and sedative residues in freshwater fish.

Antibiotics and sedatives are used in freshwater fish culture and transportation, and residue in freshwater fish pose potential risks to human health. Therefore, a throughput method was developed to detect antibiotic and sedative residues in fish, simultaneously quantifying 68 antibiotics and 9 sedatives in freshwater fish using a modified QuEChERS extraction method and UPLC-MS/MS. Matrix-matched calibrations demonstrated good correlation coefficients (R2 > 0.995), with a recovery range of 66.2-118.5%. The intra-day and inter-day relative standard deviation (RSD) were below 9.7% and 12.8%, respectively. The limits of detection (LOD) and quantification (LOQ) were 0.08-1.46 µg/kg and 0.25-4.86 µg/kg, respectively. 68.8% of analytes had weak matrix effects, and 13.0% had moderate matrix effects. In addition, diazepam and many types of antibiotics were detected in30 freshwater fish. The validation parameters were in agreement with the acceptable criteria of the Codex guidelines. The method was effective in analyzing antibiotic and sedative residues in freshwater fish.

Association of serum concentrations of remnant cholesterol with incident cardiovascular disease in patients with rheumatoid arthritis: A real-world data from 2001 to 2022.

BACKGROUND: Remnant cholesterol (RC) promotes cardiovascular disease (CVD) in the general population, but its role among rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients remains unknown. We aimed to investigate circulating RC levels associated with incident CVD among Chinese patients with RA. METHODS: A total of 1018 RA patients free of baseline CVD were included and followed up in a prospective RA CVD cohort from 2001 to 2022. Fasting serum levels of triglycerides, total cholesterol (TC), low-density (LDL-C), and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) were measured, while RC and Non-HDL-C levels were calculated. The primary exposure was RC levels. A LASSO Cox model was used to select covariates. The Fine-Gray competing risk model was used to estimate hazard ratios (HRs). RESULTS: RA patients had a mean age of 53.9 years, and 802 (78.8%) were females. After a median follow-up of 5.54 years, 131 patients developed CVD with an incidence rate of 21.6 per 1000 person-years. Continuous and quartile-categorized RC levels were associated with incident CVD before and after multivariate adjustment and Bonferroni correction (all P < 0.001). There were no robust associations of other lipids with incident CVD. The fully adjusted HRs for RC were 2.30 (95% CI 1.58-3.35) per 1 mmol/L increase, and 2.40 (1.36-4.25) and 2.81 (1.60-4.94) for patients in the 3rd and 4th versus the 1st quartile, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Circulating RC levels are positively associated with incident CVD among Chinese RA patients independent of known risk factors, implying its clinically preferable use for improving the stratification of CVD risk in RA patients.

An exploration of the association between family functioning and nonsuicidal self-injury among Chinese adolescents with mood disorders

Background and objectives This study explored the correlation between nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) and family functioning among adolescents aged 12 to 17 years with mood disorders. Methods A total of 142 participants were clinically assessed for NSSI, with 85 in the NSSI group and 57 in the non-NSSI group. The correlation between NSSI and family functioning was compared and a regression prediction model was constructed to determine the risk probability of NSSI. Results A significant association was found between family functioning and NSSI (P = 0.017). The correlation between adolescents with NSSI and gender, communication, affective responsiveness, and behaviour control was statistically significant. A nomogram graph and ROC curve were constructed, with an AUC of 0.772. Conclusion The findings support the notion that family functioning is associated with a higher risk for NSSI among adolescents with mood disorders. Furthermore, gender, communication, affective responsiveness, and behaviour control may be contributing factors. (AU)

Textbook oncological outcomes and prognosis after curative gastrectomy in advanced gastric cancer: A multicenter study.

BACKGROUND: The impact of achieving textbook oncological outcome (TOO) as a multimodal therapy quality indicator on the prognosis of advanced gastric cancer (AGC) remains inadequately assessed. METHODS: Patients with AGC who underwent curative gastrectomy between January 2010 and December 2017 at two East Asian medical centers were included. TOO was defined as achieving the textbook outcome (TO) and receiving neoadjuvant and/or adjuvant chemotherapy (NCT or ACT). Cox and logistic regression models were used to identify prognostic and non-TOO-associated risk factors. RESULTS: Among 3626 patients, 57.6% achieved TOO (TOO group), exhibiting significantly better 5-year overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) than the non-TOO group (both p < 0.05). Multivariate Cox regression identified TOO as an independent prognostic factor for 5-year OS (HR, 0.67; 95% CI, 0.61-0.74; p < 0.001) and DFS (HR, 0.73; 95% CI, 0.66-0.81; p < 0.001). Multivariate logistic regression showed that open gastrectomy, lack of health insurance, age ≥65 years, ASA score ≥ Ⅲ, and tumor size ≥50 mm are independent risk factors for non-achievement of TOO (all p < 0.05). On a sensitivity analysis of TOO's prognostic value using varying definitions of chemotherapy parameters, a stricter definition of chemotherapy resulted in a decrease in the TOO achievement rate from 57.6 to 22.3%. However, the associated reductions in the risk of death and recurrence fluctuated within the ranges of 33-39% and 28-37%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: TOO is a reliable and stable metric for favorable prognosis in AGC. Optimizing the surgical approach and improving health insurance status may enhance TOO achievement.

Long-term survival outcomes of robotic total gastrectomy for locally advanced proximal gastric cancer: a prospective study.

BACKGROUND: Robotic gastrectomy is a safe and feasible approach for gastric cancer (GC); however, its long-term oncological efficacy remains unclear. We evaluated the long-term survival outcomes and recurrence patterns of patients with locally advanced proximal GC who underwent robotic total gastrectomy (RTG). METHODS: This prospective study (FUGES-014 study) enrolled 48 patients with locally advanced proximal GC who underwent RTG between March 2018 and February 2020 at a tertiary referral teaching hospital. Patients who underwent laparoscopic total gastrectomy (LTG) in the FUGES-002 study were enrolled in a 2:1 ratio to compare the survival outcomes between RTG and LTG. The primary endpoint of the FUGES-014 study was postoperative 30-day morbidity and has been previously reported. Here we reported the results of 3-year disease-free survival (DFS), 3-year overall survival (OS), and recurrence patterns. RESULTS: After propensity score matching, 48 patients in the RTG and 96 patients in the LTG groups were included. The 3-year DFS rates were 77.1% (95% confidence interval [CI] 66.1-89.9%) for the RTG and 68.8% (95% CI 60.1-78.7%) for the LTG groups ( P =0.261). The 3-year OS rates were not significantly different between the groups (85.4% vs. 74.0%, P =0.122). Recurrence occurred in nine patients (18.8%) in the RTG and 27 (28.1%) patients in the LTG groups ( P =0.234). Recurrence patterns and causes of death were similar between the groups ( P >0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The oncological outcome of RTG was non-inferior to that of LTG. Thus, RTG might be an alternative surgical treatment for locally advanced proximal GC.